Chapter 1422: The Deron Star Region
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Home had a very warm feeling.
Traveling Buddha’s grandfather, mother, and little sister surrounded him, constantly asking him about how he had lived over these last few years, and if anything new had happened in his life. Small Buddha had learned how to play the zither, so her mother encouraged her to play a tune, and everyone clapped in praise.
Although Traveling Buddha’s family treated Xia Fan well, attempting to include him in the conversation by asking him a question from time to time, they still weren’t Xia Fan’s family, so a faint sense of distance began to emerge.
Using the excuse of seeing the scenery, Xia Fan headed to the nearby beach. Facing the ocean, he listened to the waves and watched as the silvery moonlight illuminated the seas.
The affectionate scene in Traveling Buddha’s home made Xia Fan reminiscence his own family.
!!
Xia Fan had two families. One group was the living disasters under the sky dome, and the other was the Skywings he had yet to meet. For Xia Fan, Holy Tomb Planet represented the past, while the Skywings represented the future.
Fortunately, while Xia Fan was alone right now, he still had a family. But the Skywings were special, and finding them wasn’t something he would finish in a day.
“Your surname is Xia?”
A voice came out of the darkness. Xia Fan turned to the voice and saw that it was Traveling Buddha’s father. The grim middle-aged man had very long hair, knotted up like he was a Daoist. He had been sitting in a shaded part of the beach, and he was now standing up and walking toward Xia Fan.
“Yes,” Xia Fan replied with a smile.
“And you are of the Speed type?”
“Correct.”
Traveling Buddha’s father shook his head slightly. “Having the surname Xia isn’t a good thing. Because of that incident from long, long ago, Ashen Moon’s warriors are very prejudiced against the surname of Xia. After all, the losses suffered by the Ashen Moon were just too awful.”
Xia Fan was startled. He asked, “You know about the Skywing attack on Ashen Moon, uncle?”
Traveling Buddha’s father thought it over. “Not really. After all, that incident occurred far too long ago.
“I just heard that all the top-cla.s.s experts of the Ashen Moon died or were beaten when those contemptible invaders attacked. This had profound and long-lasting effects on Ashen Moon. Most of the current n.o.ble lineages actually came about after the dissolution of the Ashen Moon, and our family is no exception.”
Xia Fan scratched his head. “Then Uncle must also hate the surname Xia.”
Traveling Buddha’s father shook his head. “To hate those who are only tangentially related to one’s foes is the behavior of a weakling. I only hope that I can one day personally face the legendary Skywings and settle my clan’s grudge. Other than that, I have no opinion.”
Traveling Buddha’s father frowned, and then changed the subject and asked about Blue Boiling Point. He hadn’t come to dinner, but Xia Fan sensed that he was actually very concerned about Traveling Buddha.
Xia Fan smiled and said, “Brother Traveling Buddha always has a frivolous att.i.tude, and he’s rather lazy, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
Xia Fan said casually, “Because Brother Traveling Buddha has no desires. When you’re friends with someone like him, you never have to worry about him selling you out for a quick buck, because Brother Traveling Buddha doesn’t care about money at all. Isn’t that a good thing?”
Traveling Buddha’s father chuckled bitterly and nodded. “Yes, that child doesn’t have a care in the world, so it’s impossible for anyone to bribe him. But are you sure it’s a good thing? Without a proactive att.i.tude or determination to succeed, how can he inherit the family business?
“If Drunken Buddha was still around, then I might not have pressured him so. After all, his older brother was even more talented, and would be enough to hold up the family business, so Traveling Buddha could be more relaxed and free.
“But Drunken Buddha is no longer around. He hasn’t been heard from for eight years, and we don’t even know if he’s alive, so Traveling Buddha is the sole surviving male. It’s not like I can make little Shaoshao inherit the family business, right? Girls eventually have to be married off.”
It was clear from the words of Traveling Buddha’s father that he was very conservative and traditional, believing that a man had to inherit the family business. It was why he had treated Traveling Buddha much more harshly than Small Buddha.
“But Brother Traveling Buddha will also have children.” Xia Fan suddenly began to a.n.a.lyze the matter from a perspective that Traveling Buddha’s father had never considered. He forcefully said, “I’ll be honest with you. I feel like Traveling Buddha is at an age where his personality is set and won’t change anymore.
“Perhaps you are very disappointed in Traveling Buddha, but Traveling Buddha will take a wife and father a son, and when the time comes, your grandson might be a hero that holds up the heavens.
“As for Brother Traveling Buddha, you should just let him be. In any case, with his personality, he won’t cause any big problems, because he doesn’t really care about anything. Neither bribes nor threats can do anything to him.”
Xia Fan saw the eyes of Traveling Buddha’s father brighten as the man muttered, “Yes, Traveling Buddha will also have children, and then I’ll be a grandfather.
“Then let me ask you, did Traveling Buddha like any girls on Blue Boiling Point?”
“I don’t think so…”
“None, huh… I remember that Camp Chief Blue s.h.i.+eld has a granddaughter, Jaya Blue. She’s sixteen this year. Did you ever see this girl while at Blue Boiling Point?”
Xia Fan shook his head in surprise. What was he trying to say? Was he going to arrange a marriage for Traveling Buddha?
“It seems like I’ll have to make a call and ask myself…” Traveling Buddha’s father muttered to himself as he slowly stepped away. He took out his phone and flipped to a number.
“Hey, Old Blue.”
“Haha, it’s nothing big. It’s just that Traveling Buddha has returned home, so I called to tell you.”
“Good, good. Everything is good.”
“Right, there’s something I want to ask you. I recall that you have a granddaughter called Jaya Blue. You brought her over once when she was little. She should be seventeen now?”
“Oh, sixteen? Then I guess I remembered wrong…”
…
Xia Fan spent two days at Drunken Buddha’s home before setting off again. With Traveling Buddha, they headed off to their work area, the Deron Star Region.
Traveling Buddha hung up on his call with his mother and roared up on the command deck, “Annoying!
“Annoying!!
“Annoying!!!
“Who in the world even came up with this idea? My mom and grandfather are insisting that I get married! I haven’t even reached the Deorn Star Region yet, but they’ve already found a partner for me. Can you believe it, Xia Fan? Seven! They found seven potential partners!”
1
Xia Fan was speechless. He knew that it wasn’t the work of Traveling Buddha’s mother or grandfather, but of his father. It was just that the father and son weren’t on speaking terms, so his father was having other people speak on his behalf.
As for the one who had come up with that idea, it was none other than Xia Fan…
Xia Fan was also very annoyed. He had never expected Traveling Buddha’s father to take his advice and go at it so enthusiastically. Traveling Buddha was a typical donkey. You could advise and suggest, but trying to force him would get you nowhere!
Traveling Buddha’s father still didn’t understand his son, turning something good into bad and making his son grow rebellious once more.
Xia Fan scratched his head and mused, “Actually, I think your mother and grandfather are doing this for your sake, and I don’t think they’re entirely wrong.”
“Why?”
“It’s very simple. You’re the famous young master of the Holy Buddha Clan, so if your mother makes it known that they’re looking for a bride for you, how many people would come offering their daughters? As the old saying goes, ‘if not for the sake of the monk, at least for the sake of the Buddha’. How could your mother reject them all?
“You have to understand what your mother and grandfather are going through. A family like yours is bound to run differently when compared to an ordinary family.”
Traveling Buddha was startled, thinking over Xia Fan’s words. Xia Fan felt like he was getting better and better at lying, and couldn’t help but go a little red in the face.
Traveling Buddha nodded slowly. “You’re right. I might be wrongly blaming my mother and grandfather. Hahhh, it’s all because I am so talented and suave. All I can say is that Mother shouldn’t have said such things to others. Now I’m in a pickle. How am I going to reject all those girls?”
Cough!
Xia Fan almost spit out his drink. This guy really considered himself to be a real pick! Xia Fan was sure that Soul Flying Bird could be considered talented and suave, but Traveling Buddha was more in the middle of the pack, certainly not someone girls would be begging to marry.
Helpless, Xia Fan could only say, “You should be as tactful as you can. Refusing people too stiffly won’t benefit you. Your elders must have some sort of relations.h.i.+p to the families of the girls who will be matched with you.
“In any case, if you find one you like, you can talk with them a bit more, and if you don’t like her, you can tactfully refuse her. Let nature take its course.”
Traveling Buddha firmly nodded. “I guess that’s how it’s going to be.”
…
Several days go by…
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha finally arrived at the capital planet of the Deron Star Region, Triumph.
Upon disembarking, Xia Fan rented a hanger at the s.p.a.ceport to store Disaster, and then the two of them went through customs. They then traveled by hovercar to the Special Bureau’s station on Deron.
The Special Bureau was a pair of majestic towers. Each one had a hundred and twenty floors, with twelve transparent sky bridges linking them. The wings of the towers had several dozen landing pads so that the Investigators could be mobilized at any time.
The Deron Special Bureau was a large organization responsible for the entire star region, and it employed tens of thousands of people, with twelve hundred of them being official Investigators. It administered thousands of local branches, and was on a completely different level from the Brenia branch.
If one counted Old Jerry, Brenia had a total of five Investigators, so it didn’t have any divisions. But Deron’s Special Bureau had a complete structure. Besides the traditional five major divisions, it had a Human Resources division, a Spy division, an Intelligence division, a Special Forces corps, and so on.
It basically had everything Headquarters would have, though each division naturally had far fewer people.
—
Upon entering the Bureau, Xia Fan noticed that everyone had grim expressions and didn’t seem particularly happy.
“A major case happened in the Deron Star Region recently. Headquarters has demanded that we solve it in short order, so everyone in the Bureau is under heavy pressure,” the golden-haired woman from the Administrative Division leading them whispered to them.
Xia Fan smiled. “What sort of case?”
“Some perverted special ability user with extremely cruel methods who targets only students in elementary and middle school. Not only does he kill them, he dismembers them and places their limbs in homes and school restrooms. There have already been twenty-three victims, and the people are in panic. Many parents aren’t even willing to send their kids to school.” The woman s.h.i.+vered after she finished whispering, perhaps recalling the gruesome crime scenes.
Twenty-three victims was nothing for a place with the Deron Star Region’s area and population, but the societal impact were huge. After all, he had killed only students, so his crimes encroached upon the public sphere.
“Are there any suspects?” Xia Fan asked her.
The woman’s face contorted in disgust. “No, but everyone suspects the Natives, because only the Natives are savage enough to do such things.”
The Deron Star Region was on the border of the Union, so it had a huge population of Natives. Xia Fan had seen many of them at the s.p.a.ceport and on the way here. Even the car they had hired to take them to the bureau had been driven by a Native.
Put simply Natives and Ashen Moonites were all human, but their bloodlines were different, and they had developed later. When the three great Federations of Ashen Moon had been established and were already taking to the stars, the Natives were still organized into tribes and engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture.
Later on, the Ashen Moonites began to aggressively expand into the surrounding star regions, forcing the Natives to change their beliefs and lifestyles. It was only after the three Federations signed a treaty ending expansion after the end of the Fourth Universal War that the aggressive occupation of Native territories ended.
The Natives who lived in the Deron Star Region consisted mostly of the Kamo. The Kamo had rather dark skin, short statures, and large mouths. They enjoyed tattooing stories from their tribal myths onto their bodies.
Although Union law decreed that Natives and Ashen Moonites had the same status, in reality the Natives were discriminated against. The Ashen Moonite schools had no Natives, the Native schools had no Ashen Moonites, and everyone lived in their own areas.
The golden-haired woman relayed an important detail to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha in the elevator, “What’s even stranger is that this scoundrel who only kills middle and elementary students only commits his crimes on Wednesday. Isn’t that just bizarre? Why Wednesday? Does Wednesday have some special meaning to him?”
Traveling Buddha was startled and asked Xia Fan, “What day of the week is it?”
Xia Fan frowned. “Wednesday…”